Ranchi: After being incarcerated for nearly 28 months, suspended IAS officer Pooja Singhal has been granted significant relief. The court granted her bail on Saturday following a hearing on the bail petition she had filed. Pooja Singhal had requested release on the grounds of prolonged custody under new legal provisions. The hearing took place in the Special Court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Ranchi.
During a previous hearing, the court had instructed the Superintendent of Birsa Munda Central Jail to report on the duration of Pooja Singhal’s imprisonment and the total period of her judicial custody. Based on this, the jail superintendent submitted a response to the court.
Pooja Singhal has been in jail for almost 28 months. According to her lawyer, under the new law, if an accused person has been in jail for an extended period and the duration of their judicial custody is at least one-third of the maximum sentence in the case, they are eligible for bail.